Supermarkets have mounted a huge out-of-town expansion drive since the onset
of the credit crunch, new data shows.

The total pipeline of planned or proposed supermarkets has soared 45 per cent
since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, and 54 per cent
since the credit crunch took hold in summer 2007, according to research from
CBRE, the property consultancy.

Some 81 per cent of the proposed development is out of town, with the
remainder in town centres. The growth of out-of-town supermarkets was
highlighted as a key factor in the long-running decline of the high street
by Mary